What can I make with rosewater?

Question

It smelled so delicious that I couldn't help buying it, but now I don't know what to do with it. I'd love to turn it into ice cream (maybe strawberry/lemon and rosewater sorbet?), or make some kind of fragrant juice with it. I think it's used in Indian sweets, too. Has anyone cooked with it?

Wow, I can't believe there are no Iranian restaurants in my town - that food sounds amazing... But I can't get into the links: I end up at some news website (interesting, but doesn't help my cooking). Would you mind pasting one or two actual recipes in?

I think I'm developing an addiction to that NDTVcooks website.

And my mouth's watering at all those (mad) Greek treats. My diet will not thank me for this!

Answer 1

Lychee Lillet Cocktails

1 (20-ounce) can lychees in syrup
2 1/2 cups Lillet (orange wine), chilled
2 teaspoons rosewater
1 teaspoon bitters (recommended: Peychaud's)
Orange twists or slices

Puree half of the lychees and all of the syrup in a blender until all lychees are liquefied. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down to get the most from the lychees into a clean pitcher; discard the fibrous solids. Add the Lillet, rosewater and bitters. Refrigerate to chill thoroughly, if needed.
Pour into chilled flutes, martini, or fun juice glasses, and garnish with an orange twist or slice. Drink.

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Egyptian Rice Pudding

3/4 cup rice flour
3/4 cup sugar
6 cups milk
2 pods whole green cardamom, lightly crushed
Pinch saffron threads
3 tablespoons rose water
Chopped pistachios, to garnish

Combine the rice flour and sugar and add to a saucepan containing the milk. Slowly bring to a boil whisking vigorously for about 2 minutes, taking care not to scorch the mixture. Add cardamom and saffron and continue stirring for 1 more minute. Remove from heat, and add rosewater. Pour pudding into individual serving glasses and let cool completely. Refrigerate for about 2 hours. Top surface completely with finely chopped pistachios and serve.

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rosewater angel food cake

For the cake
1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups egg whites (about 13 large egg whites)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon rosewater (available at specialty foods shops) if desired
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon grenadine syrup


fresh raspberries for garnish
mint sprigs for garnish


Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Sift the flour 3 times onto a sheet of wax paper. Sift together the sifted flour and 2/3 cup of the sugar onto another sheet of wax paper. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites until they are frothy, add the salt and the cream of tartar, and beat the mixture until it barely forms soft peaks. Sift one fourth of the flour mixture over the whites, fold it gently but thoroughly, and sift and fold in the remaining flour mixture in the same manner. Spoon the batter into a very clean, ungreased tube pan, 10 by 8 1/4 by 4 1/4 inches, preferably with a removable bottom, smoothing the top, and rap the pan on a hard surface twice to remove any air bubbles. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until it is springy to the touch and a tester comes out clean. If the pan has feet invert it over a work surface; otherwise invert it over the neck of a bottle. Let the cake cool for at least 2 hours or overnight. Run a thin knife in a sawing motion around the edge of the pan and the tube to loosen the cake from the pan and invert the cake onto a cake plate.
Make the glaze: In a small bowl stir together with a fork the confectioner's sugar, the lemon juice, and the grenadine syrup until the mixture is smooth.
Pour the glaze over the cake, let the cake stand for 10 minutes, or until the glaze is set, and garnish it with the raspberries and the mint.
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Rosewater Cooler

3 cups water, cold
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons rosewater
2 tablespoons banana liqueur
2 tablespoons grenadine syrup
Ice cubes, for serving

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Strawberry & raspberry jelly with rosewater cream

Ingredients (serves 2)
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
100g strawberries, hulled, roughly chopped
60g raspberries
2 tsp (7g) powdered gelatine
1 tbs strawberry liqueur (or to taste), plus 1 tbs extra (optional)
1/2 cup (125ml) thin cream
2 tsp icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp rosewater*
Mixed berries, to serve
Method
Combine the caster sugar, strawberries, raspberries and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat, without boiling, for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves and raspberries break down. Remove from heat.
Place 1/2 cup (125ml) boiling water in a bowl and sprinkle over the gelatine, then stir rapidly until gelatine dissolves completely. Add the gelatine mixture and liqueur to berry mixture, then strain mixture through a fine sieve placed over a jug (do not press down on solids). Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled.
Rinse two 100ml-capacity, 8cm heart-shaped moulds in cold water and place on a small tray. Pour berry mixture into moulds, cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
Whisk cream and icing sugar in a small bowl until lightly whipped. Stir in the rosewater and extra liqueur, if using.To serve, dip the jelly moulds into hot water for 2-3 seconds, turn out the jellies onto plates and serve with the rosewater cream and mixed berries.
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My favorite Greek Sweet couscous with almonds, rosewater and dried fruit

Ingredients:
250 gr. couscous
1 litre vegetable broth
100 gr. fresh butter
100 gr. olive oil
150 gr. caster sugar
a bit of salt
ground cinnamon
4-5 cinnamon sticks
1 litre water
400 gr. sugar
50 gr. dates without seeds
50 gr. raisins (half white, half black)
50 gr. dried apricots
50 gr. prunes
50 gr. cleaned almonds
2 tablespoons rosewater


Instructions:
At the base of a couscousière place the vegetable broth to boil. Place over the basket with the couscous, which you have previously "crushed" (mix with a bit of olive oil and salt). Stir and let it cook for about 30'. At the same time, boil in another pot one litre of water with 3-4 cinnamon sticks and 400 gr. sugar. Add the dried fruit, let them boil for about 10' and then remove the fruit, place them on a bowl and let the broth thicken, by letting it boil for another 15'. Pour over with the sauce from the fruit and give a bit of aroma by adding some rosewater. This sauce will accompany the couscous. Take the couscous out of the couscousière and add the butter in small pieces, the caster sugar and the ground cinnamon, mixing continuously. Place it in a mould, then on a plate and accompany with the sauce of dried fruit, ground cinnamon and sugar.
You can find the couscousière and tangine in big stores with kitchen utensils. Otherwise, you can use a plain pot and the special colander for steam cooking (instead of a couscousière) and a clay pot with a conical lid (instead of a tangine).

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Galactoboureko: greek filled custard dessert

1 Box filo

2 Sticks butter melted

Custard:

1 qt Milk

5 Eggs

1/2 cup Farina cereal

1/2 cup Sugar

Syrup:

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup Honey

Grated zest of 1 lemon

OR: 1 tsp rosewater


1. First make the custard: scald milk and cool to warm.

2. Add sugar and farina.

3. Beat 10 minutes until fluffy.

4. Beat eggs separately until fluffy.

5. Slowly beat some milk mixture into egg mixture on medium speed and return all egg mixture into milk mixture and blend well.

6. Slowly cook mixture on low heat, stirring constantly until thick, about20 minutes.

7. Cool completely and chill.

8. Mixture will be thick and creamy.

9. Assemble: butter 6 whole filo sheets and overlap each in a buttered 9 x 13 pan so part of filo laps over edges of pan. Spread on all of filling.

10. Flip edges of filo over to cover filling.

11. Cover with 6 more buttered filo sheets and overlap and cover as before.

12. work quickly so filo doesnt dry out. Score 2/3rds through filo prior to baking.

13. Bake in a 350 oven for 20 to 30 minutes or golden.

14. Prepare the syrup by boiling all for 10 minutes.

15. Pour hot syrup over cooled pastry.

16. This is a very special greek pastry.

Answer 2

Any number of homemade spa-at-home recipes can be made with rosewater, which is excellent for toning down reddish skin (in fact, natural rosacea treatments rely heavily on rosewater). Link to spa at home recipes shown below.

I took your question to mean, however, what kind of foodstuffs can you make with it. There are quite a few cupcake and muffin recipes you can adapt with both lavender and rosewater for a lovely fragrant muffin, but you may also want try a historic treat.

In the Middle East, one of the most popular flavors of ice cream is pistachio with rosewater. There is another dessert which uses rosewater -- yakh dar behesht -- which is made with rice-flour, starch, sugar, rosewater, milk and pistachios. There is also -- bastani akbar-mashti -- vanilla ice-cream with thick cream and rosewater.

If you use the recipe link below, and scroll down to "desserts" you'll see a dozen or so recipes for rosewater infused treats. If you scroll down to "Misc" you even see three jams you can make! Perhaps you could give those a try.

Enjoy!

Answer 3

When I was a little girl we went on a field trip with my school to some old fashion place and we made cookies and we used rose water in them, they were so delicious! we made them from scratch and baked in a brick oven using old fashion utensils that they used back in those days. It was fun, but even more delicious!

Answer 4

Indian sweets:
do a Yahoo! search: NDTVCooks ...and then click on 'Recipes" then in the search space, type in 'rose water' and you will find a whole pile of Indian desserts ....enjoy them

basic are:
Sweet Lassi...drink of yoghurt mixed with water, sugar and rose water ...
Khir....rice pudding
Rose Milk ..... sweetened milk w/ rose water


xxxxx
Lakshmi Parimala

Answer 5

yes, i use it in making a greek dessert called baklava. it makes a great glaze as well for dipping plain bread like doughnuts or churros or something.

Answer 6

www.taste.com has some sweet recipes using rosewater!

Answer 7

Makes a lovely toner!

Answer 8

It makes a really nice flavoring for rice pudding.

Answer 9

you can make a nice hand lotion with it in combination with glycerine and cold cream